AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

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This could become my favorite lens! It focuses fairly quickly, zooms smoothly, and seems very sharp even compared to good quality prime lenses. The VR works well, as on any Nikon VR lens. Also typical of Nikon VR there is an audible click when the VR starts (half press of shutter release) and when it turns off (a second or two after releasing the shutter). The zoom lock exists, but I have not yet seen any hint of "zoom creep" even if the lock is disengaged, so I usually forget to use it. The lens balances very nicely on my D7000. The real strength of this lens is that it can reach from 18-200mm, in a compact package. Bokeh is OK, but I wouldnt want to use it for portraits. Dont plan on using this in low light, unless on a tripod; the VR is most effective for stabilizing handheld shots in full daylight at the higher zoom ranges. For handheld shooting in low light (and for portraits) consider the amazing 35mm f 1.8 prime. The included lens hood is so shallow (presumably to accommodate wide angle without vignetting) that it is basically useless. Instead you should consider buying a step-up ring and using 77mm filters, which will allow you to use one set of filters for this and your 12-24mm or 10-24mm super wide angle lens.

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The lens is advertised as Very Good condition Any where else would have listed it as excellent condition. It arrived days before the "expected delivery" date. I have an outing planned this weekend, and the better than prompt delivery of a new toy for my camera will make it all the more fun. I would say overly packed for safety. There was no way it wasnt arriving in the same condition it was shipped. Extremely please with the lens. Im just staring out taking photography seriously and the lens has a very intuitive feel to it. Everything is where you would expect it to be, and it only took a few minutes to get the feel of the lens. Midwest Photo & Electronics will be top of my list for my next purchase of camera stuff.

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I have been wanting the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G for many months. And I do not regret getting one. I definitely recommend the 5.6G over the 6.3G for it is far more sharper, especially at its max zoom at 200mm. Despite being heavier than the 6.3G, it feels to be more durable and more "professional". Also, I love the fact that I do not have to carry two lens. Now my backpack is weighs less, and I could put other things in it.

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Ive used this lens for about 9 months. The images are clear, accurate, and focused. If you can only purchase one lens to upgrade to, consider this lens! This was my walkaround lens and it stayed on my camera most of the time during trips. I have since upgraded to a FX camera, and a full-frame lens. I want to point out that there are some areas that you should consider: 1. Low light. This is not a 2.8 lens and be sure you increase your ISO to compensate. 2. Bokeh. Its OK, but sometimes muddy. 3. Distortion. Very manageable and hardly noticeable for the most part, but when you shoot things that are supposed to be straight at less than about 50mm there is some pincushioning. 4. Vignetting. In low-light and long-exposure pictures, you can clearly see some falloff in the corners. 5. Weight. If youre not used to big lenses, this will take some getting used to, especially if youre upgrading from a kit lens. With that said, I carried this lens to Utah and to Seattle and loved the results. Certainly a huge improvement over the kit lenses you probably used with your camera when you first purchased it.

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I give this lens a solid four-stars, but its not a five-star lens. Heres why… the lens is NOT heavy to me as some complain in their reviews. Theres a lot of glass inside and a little weight is to be expected. However, Nikon has not done the best job damping the lens creep that this lens exhibits. In the mid-zoom area of the lens (around 100mm onward), if you hold this lens downward, it will extend on its own. Stopped down this lens is mostly sharp across the image area… mostly. At f5.6 the items on the edges will be soft and a little mushy. At f8 its better and at f11 maybe marginally better. Dont go beyond f11… diffraction sets in and the edges and details across the frame start to artifact. Open wide and you will get a lot of out of focus areas but the item youve focused on will be sharp. However, dont expect lovely Bokeh… this is not that kind of lens. As an all-in-one lens for travel, I recommend this lens. As a project lens, meaning shooting portraits, breathtaking landscapes, sunsets, etc. I would not recommend this lens… instead get a couple of primes (a 28 for landscape and a 90 for head shots or a 50 for full body shots).

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My bread and butter lens. Dropped one on a highway as I was changing lenses. Dented the darn rim so it wouldnt adjust. Rather than repair, I bought one just like it. A very nice general type of zoom lens. Works very well. May not be as crisp as higher priced lenses but thats why they are higher priced. I do a lot of HDR photography and use a tripod. I also like using the manual focus for night shots. I feel really good about this lens for someone thats not into the really high end lenses.

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I just got this lens and have used it a couple times. It doesnt have any creep whether the lens is pointed up or down; hopefully this is something finally addressed by Nikon. It comes with a bayonet hood which doesnt stay on particularly well, a fault Ive found with every Nikon lens Ive owned. It is clearly a better constructed lens than those you can purchase for less than $500. Obviously, Im pleased with the ability to traverse such a range with a single lens. I will add to this review as I gain experience with it. 06-05-12: Ive been able to do some shooting and have already noticed that the photos are not as crisp, nor the bokeh as pleasing, as those taken with the kit 18-105mm lens. 06-15-12: I shot 1300+ pictures on vacation in New Mexico. I can say without a doubt creep is not an issue. The lens moves smoothly throughout and stays put. Ive found crispness sufficient when not at the extreme ends of focus; issue with bokeh remains regardless of focus. 01-22-13: At this point I can safely say I am very happy with this lens. If you stay away from opening or closing the lens completely, the images are plenty crisp. Never had a single issue with creep. 08-13-13: Well, took another vacation in New Mexico and suddenly the creep issue appeared. I was on some pretty rough terrain with the camera slung over my shoulder. Sure enough, after hiking for a while Id look down to find the lens had crept out to full zoom. Still, at this point it takes some effort to make creep happen.

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Lets just get to the punch: this is a great all-purpose walk-around lens. It has generally good sharpness throughout the range, it has a GREAT range, has a pretty wide end, and, to boot, is relatively reasonable in price. Yes, you can quibble about barrel distortion at certain zoom levels, can probably find some image softness at certain points, and, yes, there is a bit of lens creep once you get the lens broken in, but if what you are looking for is a single lens that lets you walk around and concentrate on learning how to compose and shoot photos, this one is hard to beat. I have had the lens for a few weeks now, and have shot both indoor and outdoor (I am using the lens with the new Nikon D7000), and have been startlingly pleased with the results. The D7000 tends to overexpose in outside shots, but thats not the fault of this lens, which really does a good job of handling its whole range from 18 to 200 mm with little lens flare, overall good sharpness, and just generally good image quality. Its not going to outperform a prime lens, but I might have to assume that anyone even investigating a zoom lens like this one understands the optical compromises which must be made in order to produce a lens like this. Having said that, with some finessing and the right technique, you can churn out some pretty impressive shots with this lens, both indoors and out (the aperture maxes at f/3.5, but if you are using one of the more modern cameras, this limitation can be somewhat overcome by increasing ISO, something the D7000 does admirably). The lens is a tad on the heavy side, but nothing like the constant f/2.8 units that are on the market: this one you can carry around all day, that is, once you get used to its reasonable weight. Constructional quality seems good (my unit was manufactured in Thailand), including a solid feel during zoom and manual focus operation. Auto-focus is acceptably fast (although we still have the sluggish live view focusing performance, even on a camera like the D7000) and acceptably quiet. The unit has switches for vibration reduction (on/off), manual/auto focus, lens lock, and also auto focus aggressiveness (normal or active). The lens is supplied with both a front and a rear plastic cap, as well as a soft fabric bag for when you are not using the lens. Not using the lens? Most people who look into a lens like this will probably attach it to the camera, and leave it there for the vast majority of the time. As I say, you can quibble over a few items, but many of these are addressed with simple software adjustments (sharpness, barrel distortion, etc.), and so I cant say that the average photographer should worry about these too much. My own shooting has been quite good so far, and after my initial few weeks of field testing, I would have little hesitation recommending this lens to the enthusiast and/or lay photographer who just wants to take photos and learn the craft a bit more. There is an important place for prime lenses, tilt-and-shift lenses, and even fish-eyes, but for the general Nikon enthusiast, this is one of the great lenses to have come out in recent memory. Five stars, especially when you consider the price.

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Heres my take, from an intermediate amateurs point of view. The Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6G VRII (72mm filter) is the most versatile walk-around lenses from NIKON: a) where there is no need to change lenses often (dust, moisture may wreak havoc to your camera mirror or worse damage the image sensor). You might have to spend additional $$ to buy a decent cleaning kit/pen & clean it often to prevent build-up.... b) Covers WIDE-INTERMEDIATE TELEPHOTO Range, applying the Convertion Ratio of 1.5, this lens becomes effectively a 27-300mm Lens on a DX camera. As with anything in life, there are tradeoffs to all decisions we make, Nikon did a fantastic compromise to produce this 11X optics, and that is where you need to be very careful in CHOOSING YOUR LENSES ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS: 1) dont expect this lens to be built like a PROFESSIONAL GRADE LENS: like PRO glass, PRO weather seal nor all-metal construction, because it doesnt claim nor pretends to be. 2) dont expect this lens to be a star performer under LOW LIGHT conditions, because no ZOOM LENSES can ever match the fast PRIMES(ranging between f1.4 - f1.8), nor the constant f2.8 of PRO ZOOM LENSES with NANO-CRYSTAL COATING for less than ideal situations (concerts, moonlight, weddings, astronomy, discos, tall buildings or straight lines at the edges... etc... 3) PRO GLASSES got less zoom range, instead they win by extra-sharpness and contrast & better f stops all the way. But to have the same range as the 18-200mm, youd need 3 PRO lenses: the 14-24mm($1,748.99), 24-70mm($1,699.95), 70-200mm($2,159), all of which adds it to $ 5,607.94(March 2011) & a FX Camera Body camera to take advantage of the bigger image sensors and PRO-Glass optics... Out of Reach of most amateurs, enthusiasts... I have seen a lot of negative comments simply because those folks did not do their homework and have the wrong expectations about this lens, where their individual & specific need did not match the intended use of this 18-200mm lens. One flaw worth mentioning though, is that most copies have LENS CREEP, mine included, but as other reviewers have mentioned, as long as the lens stays at either end of the range (18mm & 200mm), they will not creep, and theres also a creep-lock. I would HIGHLY recommend this product. The price ($699-751 Feb. 2011) is a little high for beginners and amateurs, but since its intended purpose is to replace 2 or 3 lenses PLUS not having to carry a heavy bag, missed photo opportunities, wrath of group members waiting for you to change lenses, buying a 18-105mm only to need more range in a couple of years(selling the old one, then buying this one); in my opinion, all this add up to...PRICELESS... So overall, this lens, which I own, along my D90 bought together in Jan. 2010 (I have migrated to D7000 since then), has been a life saver, it is pretty much youll ever need in most situations(exceptions described above). The price to pay for this type of convenience, space & weight savings, not changing lenses, is well justified the investment youll make. And as Ken Rockwell would say, add a PRIME LENS f1.4 or f1.8 for LOW LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY, and you are set to conquer the world... Edited October 2012: Nikon have unleashed a new monster,the Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX (77mm filter). I would not hesitate to purchase this product based on the 18-200mm perfomance. But for the time being, my 8 and 9 year olds have begun to be able to hold on my D7000+18-200mm (not exactly a light combo) and taking decent photos, will wait a few more years to upgrade. At 50% more range for only U$ 150 more, I would say it is a good buy..... Happy Shooting!!

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What can I say, other than this lens has all the legendary Nikon quality. Its very solid, a bit on the heavy side, but the photos I take with it in conjunction with my Nikon D7500 camera are super sharp. Besides, this lens covers all the range I need, from wide-angle to long telephoto due to the APS-C format.

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